Airbag apparatus for vehicle

ABSTRACT

An airbag apparatus for a vehicle is capable of protecting a collision object while protecting the vehicle and an occupant. In particular, the airbag apparatus is installed in a fully autonomous vehicle in which the occupant&#39;s position and posture are variable. The airbag apparatus includes an inflator provided at a pillar of a vehicle body and configured to generate working gas, a housing mounted to the pillar of the vehicle body, a cushion part accommodated in the housing and configured to be inflated as being discharged from the housing by receiving the working gas generated from the inflator for covering the vehicle, and a tether part provided in the cushion part to determine a deployment shape of the cushion part.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of non-provisional U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/387,909, filed on Apr. 18, 2019 whichclaims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2018-0158989, filed on Dec. 11, 2018, which are incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to an airbag apparatus for avehicle.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Various types of airbags are installed in conventional vehicles toprotect occupants in a crash. In the conventional vehicle, a seat onwhich an occupant sits is provided at a predetermined position, therebydetermining the position and posture of the occupant. Therefore, most ofthe occupants in the conventional vehicles take a similar position andposture, and accordingly, the position and shape of the airbags aregenerally installed on the front and side of the vehicle interior.

In recent years, however, research has been continuously conducted onautonomous vehicles in accordance with technological developments, andthe autonomous vehicles that do not require the occupant to operate thevehicle have been studied.

Since the autonomous vehicle does not require the driver to operate thevehicle, the seat arrangement and the interior structure of the vehicleare no longer desired to be arranged in a conventional manner such as adriver's seat, a front passenger's seat and a rear seat.

Therefore, the autonomous vehicle desires a new concept of the airbagapparatus to protect an occupant who is sitting in an arbitrary positionand posture in the vehicle during a collision.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the presentdisclosure, and therefore it may contain information that does not formthe prior art that is already know to a person of ordinary skill in theart.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides an airbag apparatus for a vehicle, theairbag apparatus capable of protecting a collision object whileprotecting a vehicle and an occupant by being installed in a fullyautonomous vehicle in which the occupant's position and posture arevariable.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided anairbag apparatus for a vehicle. the airbag apparatus includes aninflator provided at a pillar of a vehicle body and configured togenerate working gas, a housing mounted to the pillar of the vehiclebody, a cushion part accommodated in the housing and configured to beinflated and discharged from the housing by receiving the working gasgenerated from the inflator, and structured to cover the vehicle, and atether part provided in the cushion part to determine a deployment shapeof the cushion part.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the pillar mayinclude an upper portion and a lower portion, and the inflator and thehousing may be separately mounted to the upper portion and the lowerportion, respectively.

The inflator may be mounted to the upper portion of the pillar, and thehousing may be mounted to the lower portion of the pillar.

The lower portion of the pillar may extend in a vertical direction, andthe housing may be formed to extend in the vertical direction along thelower portion of the pillar.

The pillar may further include a curved portion between the upperportion and the lower portion, and the cushion part may be folded alonga shape of the curved portion of the pillar and may be connected to theinflator.

The housing may include an opening configured to discharge the cushionpart, and the opening may be oriented to a center in a width directionof the vehicle body.

The pillar may be an A-pillar, and the cushion part may be configured todeploy and expand to cover a front of the vehicle.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the cushionpart may be provided therein with a deployment guide means for guidingthe deployment shape of the cushion part by guiding a flow of theworking gas provided from the inflator.

The deployment guide means may include a diffuser communicating with theinflator to branch and supply the working gas into the cushion part, anda first diaphragm and a second diaphragm dividing an internal space ofthe cushion part into multiple chambers. The first diaphragm and thesecond diaphragm are provided with multiple flow holes to communicateadjacent chambers with each other.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the diffusermay branch the working gas in a vertical direction. The internal spaceof the cushion part may be divided into the multiple chambers in thevertical direction by the first diaphragm and the second diaphragm, andthe multiple chambers may be configured such that volumes of internalspaces thereof are gradually decreased from lower to upper directions,and the working gas branching and being supplied from the diffuser maybe supplied in such a manner that a lowermost chamber of the multiplechambers is supplied with the working gas more than remaining chambers.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the tether partmay include a first tether and a second tether configured such thatfirst ends thereof are fixed to the housing and second ends thereof arefixed to an end portion of the cushion part, and a length of the firsttether may be configured to be shorter than a length of the secondtether.

The first tether and the second tether may be fixed to the end portionof a first surface of the cushion part, and the first surface of thecushion part may be configured to face a glass provided in the vehiclebody.

The airbag apparatus may further include a tether cutter for selectivelycutting the first tether. Accordingly, the cushion part is interruptedby the first tether or the second tether depending on operation of thetether cutter, which is selectively determined by a type of collision,and the deployment shape of the cushion part is determined.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, each of theinflator, the housing, the cushion part, and the tether part may beconfigured as at least one pair that is arranged symmetrically with eachother on opposite sides of a front edge or a rear edge of the vehiclebody.

The vehicle body may be a vehicle body of an autonomous vehicle.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided an airbag apparatus for a vehicle. The airbag apparatusincludes an inflator mounted to a roof edge of a vehicle body, andconfigured to generate working gas, a housing mounted to the roof edgeof the vehicle body, a cushion part accommodated in the housing, thecushion part configured to be inflated and discharged from the housingby receiving the working gas generated from the inflator, and structuredto cover the vehicle, and a tether part provided in the cushion part todetermine a deployment shape of the cushion part.

The cushion part may be configured to deploy from top towards bottom atfront, back, and opposite sides of the vehicle body.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, since the airbagapparatus is provided to be deployed outside a mobility platformvehicle, which is a fully autonomous vehicle not requiring a driver'sseat, it is possible to absorb impacts transmitted to the vehicle in theevent of an external collision, thereby protecting the vehicle and theoccupant while protecting the collision object.

Further, the first tether and the second tether having different lengthsto determine the deployment shape of the cushion part are provided suchthat the tether restricting the cushion part is selected depending onthe collision type, whereby it is possible to selectively inflate theshape of the cushion part depending on the collision type.

Further, when the airbag apparatus according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure is applied to a fully autonomous vehicle, in the event of avehicle-to-vehicle collision, the airbag is deployed in each vehicle toincrease shock absorption performance.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now bedescribed various forms thereof, given by way of example, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to a formof the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a state before the airbag apparatus for a vehicleaccording to the form of the present disclosure is deployed;

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a state after the airbag apparatus for avehicle according to the form of the present disclosure is deployed;

FIG. 5 illustrates a cushion part of the airbag apparatus for a vehicleaccording to the form of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 6 to 8 illustrate deployment shapes of the airbag apparatus for avehicle according to the form of the present disclosure depending onvarious collision types; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a state after the airbag apparatus for a vehicleaccording to another form of the present disclosure is deployed.

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Itshould be understood that throughout the drawings, correspondingreference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 4, an airbag apparatus for a vehicleaccording to a form of the present disclosure includes an inflator 10provided outside a vehicle body 1 and configured to generate workinggas, a housing 20 mounted to an edge of the vehicle body 1, a cushionpart 30 accommodated in the housing 20 and configured to be inflated asbeing discharged from the housing 20 by receiving the working gasgenerated from the inflator 10 for covering a front of the vehicle body1, and a tether part 40 provided in the cushion part 30 to determine adeployment shape of the cushion part 30. As shown in FIG. 1, forexample, the airbag apparatus is applied to a vehicle body of anautonomous vehicle. However, according to other form of the presentdisclosure, the airbag apparatus may be applied to a vehicle body of anyvehicles.

The inflator 10 is a means for inflating the cushion part 30 bysupplying the cushion part 30 with working gas generated when gunpowderor gas filled therein explodes, and an inflator that is applied to ageneral airbag apparatus is used. However, the inflator 10 is mountedoutside the vehicle body 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, theinflator 10 may be mounted to a side on a front edge and/or a rear edgeof the vehicle body 1 by an inflator mount 11.

The housing 20 is provided on a side of the front edge and/or the rearedge of the vehicle body 1 to be adjacent to the inflator 10, and thestowed cushion part 30 is accommodated in the housing 20.

For example, the inflator 10 and the housing 20 may be mounted to apillar of the vehicle body 1. That is, the inflator 10 and the housing20 may be mounted to an A-pillar arranged at a front of the vehicle body1 or to a C-pillar arranged at a rear of the vehicle body 1. Theinflator 10 and the housing 20 may be mounted to both of the A-pillarand the C-pillar.

For example, a pair of the inflator 10 and the housing 20 may be mountedto each of a pair of the A-pillars constituting the vehicle body 1 suchthat the pair of the inflator 10 and the housing 20 may cover the frontof the vehicle body 1. That is, the inflator 10 and the housing 20 maycover the front of the vehicle.

Here, the pillar may include an upper portion and a lower portion, andthe inflator 10 and the housing 20 may be separately mounted to theupper portion and the lower portion, respectively.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inflator 10 may be mountedto the upper portion of the pillar, and the housing 20 may be mounted tothe lower portion of the pillar.

In particular, the lower portion of the pillar may extend in a verticaldirection. Accordingly, the housing 20 may be formed to extend in thevertical direction along the lower portion of the pillar.

Meanwhile, the housing 20 may be formed with an opening for determiningthe deployment direction of the cushion part 30. The opening formed inthe housing 20 may be varied depending on the deployment direction ofthe cushion part 30.

For example, the opening may be oriented to a center in a widthdirection of the vehicle body 1, such that the cushion part 30 maydeploy toward the center in the width direction of the vehicle body 1.

In addition, the housing 20 may be provided outside the vehicle body 1by a housing mount 21. That is, housing 20 may be mounted to the lowerportion of the pillar by the housing mount 21.

As the working gas provided from the inflator 10 is injected, thecushion part 30 is discharged from the housing 20 and is inflated, whichis substantially a means of protecting the vehicle body and an occupant.The overall shape of the cushion part 30 can be varied and applieddepending on the type of object to be protected.

In particular, the cushion part 30 may be accommodated in the housing 20and may be connected to the inflator 10 such that the cushion part 30may receive the working gas generated from the inflator 10.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pillar may include a curved portionbetween the upper portion and the lower portion. The cushion part 30 maybe folded along a shape of the curved portion of the pillar to beconnected to the inflator 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cushion part 30 may be provided therein with adeployment guide means 60 for guiding a deployment shape of the cushionpart 30 by a flow of the working gas provided from the inflator 10.

Referring to FIG. 5, the deployment guide means 60 may include adiffuser 61 communicating with the inflator 10 to branch and supply theworking gas into the cushion part 30; and a first diaphragm 62 and asecond diaphragm 63 dividing an internal space of the cushion part 30into multiple chambers.

As shown in FIG. 5, the diffuser 61 is formed in the vertical directioninside the cushion part 30 and branches the working gas supplied fromthe inflator 10 in the vertical direction inside the cushion part 30.

Further, the internal space of the cushion part 30 may be divided intothe multiple chambers in the vertical direction by the first diaphragm62 and the second diaphragm 63, and the multiple chambers may be formedsuch that volumes of internal spaces thereof are gradually decreasedfrom lower to upper directions. In addition, it is preferable that thefirst diaphragm 62 and the second diaphragm 63 are provided withmultiple flow holes 64 to communicate adjacent chambers with each other.

It is preferable that the working gas branching and being supplied fromthe diffuser 61 is supplied in such a manner that a lowermost chamber ofthe multiple chambers is supplied with the working gas more thanremaining chambers. Thus, when a collision of the vehicle body 1 occurs,it is preferable that the cushion part 30 absorbs impact while firstlycoming into contact with the impact object in the lower region thereof,and the working gas is sequentially transferred to the upper chamberthrough the first diaphragm 62 and the second diaphragm 63 such that thepressure of the cushion part 30 is maintained.

Meanwhile, the tether part 40 is a means for determining the deploymentshape of the cushion part 30. For example, the tether part 40 mayinclude a first tether 41 and a second tether 42 configured such thatfirst ends thereof are fixed to the housing 20 and second ends thereofare fixed to an end portion of the cushion part 30. It is preferablethat a length of the first tether 41 is formed to be shorter than alength of the second tether 42, such that the deployment shape of thecushion part 30 is selectively determined by the first tether 41 and thesecond tether 42. Further, the first tether 41 and the second tether 42are provided in the direction where the cushion part is brought intoclose contact with a glass 2 provided in the vehicle body 1 when thecushion part 30 is deployed.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the second ends of the firsttether 41 and the second tether 42 may be fixed to the end portion of afirst surface of the cushion part 30. Here, the first surface of thecushion part 30 may be configured to face a glass 2 provided in thevehicle body 1.

Accordingly, when the cushion part 30 is inflated, the cushion part 30may be inflated while being brought into close contact with the glass 2by the first tether 41 and the second tether 42.

In order for the first tether 41 and the second tether 42 to selectivelydetermine the deployment shape of the cushion part 30, the airbagapparatus further includes a tether cutter 50 for selectively cuttingthe first tether 41. Accordingly, the cushion part 30 is interrupted bythe first tether 41 or the second tether 42 depending on operation ofthe tether cutter 50, which is selectively determined by a type ofcollision, and the deployment shape is determined.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, in the case where the tether cutter 50is not operated, the inflator 10 is triggered and the working gas issupplied to the cushion part 30, so the cushion part 30 is inflated.Here, the end portion of the cushion part 30 is interrupted by theshorter first tether 41, such that the cushion part 30 is inflated tohave a thick thickness in a narrow range without being fully deployed inthe longitudinal direction.

On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 4, in the case where the tether cutter50 is operated, the tether cutter 50 is operated with the signal thatthe inflator 10 is triggered, and cuts the first tether 41. Accordingly,the inflator 10 is triggered and the working gas is supplied to thecushion part 30, so the cushion part 30 is inflated. Here, the endportion of the cushion part 30 is interrupted by the longer secondtether 42, such that the cushion part 30 is fully deployed in thelongitudinal direction, thereby being inflated to have a thin thicknessin a wide range.

The determination of the type of collision may be determined by signalsdetected in various sensors provided in the vehicle. For example, thecollision type may be determined in such a manner that signals detectedby various sensors such as an ADAS sensor, a brake sensor, a vehiclespeed sensor, a yaw rate sensor, a GPS, a SAN angle sensor, and a VDSare analyzed by the ECU and are compared with the established collisiontype database.

The airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to the form of the presentdisclosure configured as described above may be installed in a varietyof ways at various locations in the vehicle body.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, each of the inflator 10, thehousing 20, the cushion part 30, and the tether part 40 may beconfigured as at least one pair that is arranged symmetrically with eachother on opposite sides of a front edge or a rear edge of the vehiclebody.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, each of the inflator 10, the housing 20,the cushion part 30, and the tether part 40 (not shown) may be providedat a roof edge of the vehicle body 1 such that the cushion part 30 isdeployed from top towards bottom at the front, a back, and oppositesides of the vehicle body 1.

Hereinafter, reference will be made to examples of deployment shapes ofthe airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to the form of the presentdisclosure configured as described above depending on the collisiontype.

Referring to FIG. 6, the airbag apparatuses 100 and 200 are installed inthe vehicle body 1 of the mobility platform vehicle, for example, afully autonomous vehicle. When a vehicle-to-vehicle offset crash occursbetween autonomous vehicles, of the left and right airbag apparatuses100 and 200, only the airbag apparatus in the crash area can bedeployed. For example, when the offset crash occurs between vehicles, ofthe left and right airbag apparatuses 100 and 200, the airbagapparatuses 100 and 200 provided at the corresponding position can besimultaneously deployed to absorb the shock.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when a vehicle-to-vehicle frontal crashoccurs between autonomous vehicles, all the left and right airbagapparatuses 100 and 200 are deployed to absorb the shock.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, when a collision occurs between theautonomous vehicle and a pedestrian 3, depending on the position of thepedestrian 3 and recognition speed, either or both of the left and rightairbag apparatuses 100 and 200 can be deployed simultaneously to protectthe pedestrian.

While the present disclosure has been described in connection with whatis presently considered to be practical exemplary forms, it is to beunderstood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosedforms, but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirt andscope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An airbag apparatus for a vehicle, the airbagapparatus comprising: an inflator provided at a pillar of a vehiclebody, and configured to generate working gas; a housing mounted to thepillar of the vehicle body; a cushion part accommodated in the housing,the cushion part configured to be inflated and discharged from thehousing by receiving the working gas generated from the inflator, andstructured to cover the vehicle; and a tether part provided in thecushion part to determine a deployment shape of the cushion part.
 2. Theairbag apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pillar includes an upperportion and a lower portion, and wherein the inflator and the housingare separately mounted to the upper portion and the lower portion,respectively.
 3. The airbag apparatus of claim 2, wherein the inflatoris mounted to the upper portion of the pillar, and wherein the housingis mounted to the lower portion of the pillar.
 4. The airbag apparatusof claim 3, wherein the lower portion of the pillar extends in avertical direction, and wherein the housing is formed to extend in thevertical direction along the lower portion of the pillar.
 5. The airbagapparatus of claim 2, wherein the pillar further includes a curvedportion between the upper portion and the lower portion, and wherein thecushion part is folded along a shape of the curved portion of the pillarand is connected to the inflator.
 6. The airbag apparatus of claim 2,wherein the housing includes an opening configured to discharge thecushion part, and wherein the opening is oriented to a center in a widthdirection of the vehicle body.
 7. The airbag apparatus of claim 1,wherein the pillar is an A-pillar, and wherein the cushion part isconfigured to deploy and expand to cover a front of the vehicle.
 8. Theairbag apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cushion part is providedtherein with a deployment guide means for guiding the deployment shapeof the cushion part by guiding a flow of the working gas provided fromthe inflator.
 9. The airbag apparatus of claim 8, wherein the deploymentguide means includes: a diffuser communicating with the inflator tobranch and supply the working gas into the cushion part; and a firstdiaphragm and a second diaphragm dividing an internal space of thecushion part into multiple chambers, wherein the first diaphragm and thesecond diaphragm are provided with multiple flow holes to communicateadjacent chambers with each other.
 10. The airbag apparatus of claim 9,wherein the diffuser branches the working gas in a vertical direction;the internal space of the cushion part is divided into the multiplechambers in the vertical direction by the first diaphragm and the seconddiaphragm, and the multiple chambers are configured such that volumes ofinternal spaces thereof are gradually decreased from lower to upperdirections; and the working gas branching and being supplied from thediffuser is supplied in such a manner that a lowermost chamber of themultiple chambers is supplied with the working gas more than remainingchambers.
 11. The airbag apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tether partincludes a first tether and a second tether configured such that firstends thereof are fixed to the housing and second ends thereof are fixedto an end portion of the cushion part, and a length of the first tetheris configured to be shorter than a length of the second tether.
 12. Theairbag apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first tether and the secondtether are fixed to the end portion of a first surface of the cushionpart, and wherein the first surface of the cushion part is configured toface a glass provided in the vehicle body.
 13. The airbag apparatus ofclaim 11, further comprising a tether cutter for selectively cutting thefirst tether, wherein the cushion part is interrupted by the firsttether or the second tether depending on operation of the tether cutter,which is selectively determined by a type of collision, and thedeployment shape of the cushion part is determined.
 14. The airbagapparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the inflator, the housing, thecushion part, and the tether part is configured as at least one pairthat is arranged symmetrically with each other on opposite sides of afront edge or a rear edge of the vehicle body.
 15. The airbag apparatusof claim 1, wherein the vehicle body is a vehicle body of an autonomousvehicle.
 16. An airbag apparatus for a vehicle, the airbag apparatuscomprising: an inflator mounted to a roof edge of a vehicle body, andconfigured to generate working gas; a housing mounted to the roof edgeof the vehicle body; a cushion part accommodated in the housing, thecushion part configured to be inflated and discharged from the housingby receiving the working gas generated from the inflator, and structuredto cover the vehicle; and a tether part provided in the cushion part todetermine a deployment shape of the cushion part.
 17. The airbagapparatus of claim 16, wherein the cushion part is configured to deployfrom top towards bottom at front, back, and opposite sides of thevehicle body.